A/n – Hello my readers! I'm happy to present my second chapter! Sorry for the late update, I had this chapter done by Friday but work didn't let me post it. First thing is first. I'll take a brief moment to inform my readers that if you want live updates on the status of my stories, follow me on twitter. There's a link in my account page.

Second, I'm going to answer a few questions brought up, I don't usually do this, but bear with me;

Velzon - I'm not entirely sure what scene you mean specifically, but writing death scenes was never my forte.

Lightningblade49 – Vengeance is a dish best served cold. Besides I have other things planned for the good doctor.

RenAshbell – Without spoiling anything, Naruto (and by extension Ayane) have plenty of training to get done. As for memory absorption, if it is done a la Shadow Clone, Naruto is absorbing new information, nothing really conflicts. However, Ayane has lived her own lifetime. So let's say he wanted to remember when he was six, if he absorbed everything in one night, he could, hypothetically, remember playing around with the other kids of Konoha, or he could, hypothetically, remember going to his first festival with his parents. Since he has never had parents, the memories would conflict and Naruto could face an identity crisis or go insane.

Mobius-mech – Thanks for the luck. I have my plans (crude, but existential plans). Naruto will be less powerful than when he was alive, but I won't say how or why. As for your idea to Ayane's Sekirei power, it was interesting. But if you remember…I said 'a being not bound by the established classes' …food for thought. However I might use your idea for fleshing purposes, if you don't mind.

ol – You posted anonymously so I'll refer to you as such. If and/or when Naruto gets an Ashikabi, he isn't really required to follow orders without question. It depends on the Ashikabi. For instance, Tsukiumi outright refused to help when Minato was helping Kuno and her Ashikabi. As for control, that actually depends on the Sekirei. Some have no problem with control but lack power, for others it's the opposite and some are kind of at the halfway point; decent amount of power and decent amount of control. To answer your question though… Kinda sorta, and I'll leave it at that.

Tommy298 – I'm not sure what you mean exactly but I'll try to give you an answer. I don't know if you read the original, but no, I didn't merge the first two chapters, I completely rewrote it. The original first chapter and my rewrite share very little similarities and the few that they do is strictly for plot purposes.

Chapter Key;

"Speech."
'Thought.'
Technique

I claim no ownership of the following intellectual properties; Naruto or Sekirei. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto andSakurako Gokurakuin respectfully.

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The Ninja-Type Sekirei: No. 109

Chapter Two: Welcome to Maison Izumo

As she leaped from the window, she opened her arms wide and allowed the wind to caress her body, her black trench coat fluttered wildly.

She laughed. For the first time in a while, she laughed. She felt…right, as if the wind was welcoming an old friend.

Her eyes glanced downward and she immediately regretted it; the ground was coming up fast.

Why did she ever decide to jump out the window? What an idiotic decision.

She was going to die in such a moronic way. Her face twisted in fear. She didn't want to die, not after coming this far.

Suddenly her eyes narrowed and her demeanor changed. As the ground approached she flipped in midair and smashed into the ground feet first. The impact made a small crater in the ground.

She stood up silently and surveyed her surroundings. Her expression was serious and her stance was experienced.

She had to move.

No.

He had to move. Naruto felt his consciousness take control now that the girl was out of immediate danger. She was too inexperienced and too broken to be forced to act before she was ready.

When they first woke up, he had let her have full access to his skills so that she could escape. He knew if he had forced a combat of wills then and there they would have been captured. Now that they were relatively safe he used her moment of fear to push his personality into control and save their life.

Naruto walked away from the scene as quickly as he could. He had to blend in, the first thing to do was to get some clothes. From the girl's memories at the time, that little piece of plastic she grabbed could be used for money. He looked around and spotted a shop down the street. From the look of it, it was a clothes store.

"Lucky break." He said. Though he said it low and it held confidence, it was said through her voice. He frowned. 'That's gonna take some getting used to.' Luckily for him, his inner voice was still his natural voice.

He quickly made for the store. He lowered his head and walked inside.

"Welcome! How may I help you miss?" A young female store clerk said from behind the counter.

Naruto looked side to side uneasily. "I uh…I need some clothes."

The clerk giggled. She looked at Naruto's attire. "I can see that. Do you have any money?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, money's no problem."

She smiled. "Excellent! Follow me please." She stepped out from behind the counter and moved to a section of clothes.

Naruto followed her quietly.

"Now what are exactly are you looking for?"

Naruto shrugged. "Something casual. Maybe something that's easy to move around in."

The clerk seemed a little disappointed. "Mou, with a figure like that you could wear almost anything you want and look good."

Naruto flushed. "T-Thanks." He didn't know what else to say.

The girl smiled at Naruto and stood by a rack. "Let's see, you'll need some underwear. Maybe some jeans and a blouse."

Naruto shook his head. "Er…nothing too girly please. I'd something really sturdy actually…" He mumbled. Being a girl was one thing, dressing like one was another.

The clerk looked at Naruto for a moment before sighing. "Damn, I was going to have fun. Alright, wait here." She moved to another rack and took out several items. She then moved to another and picked out a few more pieces of clothing.

She returned and handed them to Naruto. "Go on into the dressing room and try 'em on. I didn't know your bra size so I took a guess. Let me know if you have any trouble." She pointed to a set of curtains near the back of the store.

Naruto nodded and entered the dressing room. When he did he placed the clothes on the bench. He turned to the full length mirror and finally managed to get a good look at the body he was sharing with his reincarnation.

Ayane was shorter than he was. He was about 180cm (5'9") when he fought Madara and she was no more than 162cm (5'3"). She was thin, really thin. Probably from the lack of food while she was at the lab. She looked so small inside the full length trench coat.

Her hair was a deep shade of red. He'd almost compare it to his mother's, but her hair was darker than his mother's. It was cut short too, it almost reached her shoulders.

She had a pretty face, Naruto would admit. Not beautiful but definitely an attractive young woman; he'd say she was probably around nineteen too, and she had the most brilliant set of green eyes he had ever seen. Sakura's eyes had been a bright jade color, but Ayane's were more of a deep emerald.

Naruto slipped out of the trench coat with little difficulty. He reached for the hem of the gown before he paused.

'S-Sorry Ayane!' Naruto apologized to his reincarnation with a flush. He pulled the gown over his head and stared at the reflection of her-their body. He had to remember that this was going to be his body as well for the rest of their life.

He gazed at the reflection. They had a modest bust, about average sized (Something Naruto was secretly happy for). Their nipples were kind of small with a pink areola. They had small but noticeable hips and thin, hairless legs.

Naruto frowned despite his embarrassment. This body was in desperate need for training, it was no wonder she couldn't reach the air vent earlier. If he got into a major fight now he probably wouldn't win. Hell, he could see almost see their ribs.

With a gulp he finally looked at their nether regions. There was some dark red hair near the top but other than that the area around the vagina was hairless.

Naruto turned away from the mirror after that, blood rushed to his face- her face- their face. He was getting confused.

He reached into a pile of clothes and pulled out the set of underwear the clerk picked out for him. He slipped the plain black panties on and made sure they were on right. After that he tried to put on the black sports bra but had accidentally put it on backwards.

"Dammit." He muttered.

He took it off with a grumble.

"Are you okay in there?" The clerk asked. "You're taking a long time."

"S-Sorry. I was just…"

"Ah I see, you were staring at your hot body weren't you?"

Naruto flushed. To be technical it wasn't his body exactly, or it was and it wasn't and he was going to stop now before he got even more confused.

He paused. 'Wait…does she even know what I look like under clothes? How can she call me "hot" if she hasn't seen everything?' He shook his head. There was no use thinking about it, he'd probably give himself a headache if he thought about it too much. Maybe it was just something women did?

"Well please stop admiring yourself and finish getting dressed."

"…Yeah."

Naruto turned the bra around and put it on properly. Afterwards he managed to dress himself with little difficulty. He glanced at his reflection one more time.

Now he was dressed in slim dark red cargo pants and a tight long sleeved grey shirt. He put the trench coat back on as an afterthought.

He nodded to himself, it would do for now.

Now all that was left was to get footwear and pay for it. After that he would have to find a safe location to plan his next move. He glanced at the hospital gown and opted to leave it there. He walked out from the dressing room.

The clerk clapped her hands together and smiled. "I knew it, red looks good on you! That top really shows off your figure too! I figured you'd want to keep the trench coat so I picked colors that would look good with it. Is it to your liking?"

Naruto nodded. "It's good."

"Everything fits? No discomfort?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Excellent. Now let's get you some sneakers and you'll be good to go!"

Naruto glanced at the dressing room. "I er…I left the-"

"Don't worry! I'll make sure to burn it personally." The clerk's smile was sickly sweet.

Naruto blinked. 'Whoa, she takes fashion seriously.'

"Follow me. Do you know your size?"

Naruto shook his head.

"That's alright! We'll get you sorted right away!"

Naruto sighed.

Five minutes passed and after ten different styles were offered, Naruto opted for a pair of black shoes that had an indent in between the first and second toes; similar to tabi socks. The clerk said something about parkour. Naruto just nodded, only half-listening.

She rang up his order on the register. "Alright! Your total is ¥7,240."

Naruto reached into the trench coat and pulled out the credit card. He handed it to the girl.

"Oh! MBI! You poor thing! Are you running away from your parents?"

Naruto shrugged dismissively.

"I'll just swipe this card then and I'll let you be on your way." She did whatever she had needed to do before handing the card back to Naruto.

"Alright! You're all set! Thank you for shopping with us! It was fun!" The clerk grinned. She put a finger to her mouth. "Don't worry, I never saw you. Come back again sometime."

Naruto smiled at the girl. "Thank you." He walked out of the store and glanced at his surroundings. By now, people had noticed the crater down the street and it was blocked off by the local police. Naruto turned the collar of his trench coat upwards and walked away.

Halfway down the street he noticed an alleyway and quietly slipped into it.

Naruto checked to make sure the coast was clear before he nodded to himself.

"Alright. Coast looks cle-" Suddenly Naruto gripped his head in pain. "A-Ah! N-No! You're not ready!" He said aloud.

She was fighting back, and pretty hard if the headache he was getting was any indication.

"You need more time. You're just gonna wind up getting us killed!"

"…My body!"

Naruto heard the words reverberate through his skull. His face twisted to a look of sadness. "I know, but I'm sorry to say it's our body now and right now, whether you like it or not, I'm the only chance we have of surviving right now!" He said through gritted teeth.

Naruto felt the pressure diminish until it was a dull throb. He took in a deep breath.

"Look, I don't like it any more than you do Ayane, but now we're stuck in this together! Just..let me find a safe place and we can try to communicate or something. I am not a bad guy, in a way…I'm you."

"…Idiot…"

Naruto felt the pressure of her presence vanish and sighed. "I hate my luck sometimes. 'A split personality is unlikely' he said. Shit, it almost feels like we're still separate people." He scratched his head. "Well, if she can call me an idiot she seems to be doing alright at least."

Naruto shook his head. "I don't have time for that." He frowned. "I have to find a pretty big place to get some quality training in." He looked at the tall buildings surrounding him. "I'd have a better vantage point up top." He placed a foot on the wall and tried to walk up it, only to fall on his backside without making it up even one step.

"Dammit." He rubbed his butt. "She's got no chakra control." He sighed. "The old fashioned way it is then."

With expert skill, Naruto jumped and grabbed the ledge of the nearest fire escape. He hoisted himself up and began climbing up the stairs to the top. Afterwards he turned and leaped to the roof of the adjacent building. He rolled as he landed and took off at a run. He jumped onto the wall and kicked off to the side and grabbed the fire escape again and repeated the process. He reached the top of the fire escape and grabbed a nearby ledge. He pulled himself up and patted his clothes to remove any possible dirt.

"Hehe, I still got it." He gripped his forearms. "But damn I'm sore."

Naruto paused when he noticed a beacon of energy about five miles north of where he was, and it was strong. He frowned and put a hand to his chin. "Hmm, I could go and check it out or I can look for a place to stay. Decisions, decisions…On one hand I get to gather information, on the other I already climbed up here and that nearly took all my energy…fuck it. I'm curious to see how Sekirei fight."

He turned and moved towards the energy. "This is gonna suck." He said as he glanced at the rough distance.

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It had taken him the greater part of two hours to reach the roof of the building closest to the energy source. Though he noticed it into separate into three groups after an hour into his trek through the city, he ignored the moving signatures and focused on reaching the one that had stayed stagnant. He had pushed his surprise at the difference in technology deep into his mind in order to keep out of sight of the patrols throughout the area.

Naruto panted as he hoisted himself up. He bent and gripped his knees. "God…damn." He groaned. "I've never…been this…tired…just by…running!" He took in a deep breath. "We really need to train." He muttered. He walked to the edge of the roof and squatted. He peered over the edge.

There was some kind of two-story inn down below and there was a young man standing in front of it in the middle of the street, he had shaggy black hair and what looked like dark eyes. He had an attractive woman with black hair and impressive breasts hugging him from behind with a carefree smile. Standing in the hallway of the second floor was a silver haired figure. At first glance Naruto couldn't tell if they were a man or a woman and he didn't trust his judgment after mistaking Haku's gender.

Naruto frowned. 'Weird…I thought there would be a fight going on.' His eyes flickered to the left just as a loud and blaring alarm sounded. He lowered his presence as well as he could in her body. He hoped they hadn't spotted him.

"An Enemy! An Enemy!" The alarm repeated loudly.

Naruto saw the silver-haired person run inside. Then he saw the black-haired woman let go of the man and her expression became serious.

Naruto heard the flutter of cloth. He turned and saw a young, voluptuous woman covered in a white silk wrap. Most of her body was visible but her modesty was mostly kept. There must have been at least twenty feet of silk floating behind and around her. She had long dark-brown hair and brown eyes. Her face was set in a serious expression. Naruto had to admit she looked very impressive.

She walked next to him and stood at the edge. She spared him a glance and gave him a small, sad smile.

"Enjoy the show…it might be my last." She leaped from the roof and floated down in front of the young man.

Naruto frowned. She looked so sad, so broken. If Naruto had to guess, the people down there were her comrades and she was being forced to fight. That made his blood boil. Comrades shouldn't have that kind of expression when fighting. They should be smiling, every fight was a chance to improve…not destroy.

He noticed two other presences rather easily, however they chose to remain hidden. However the latent energy he felt from them made them easy to track. Instead of traveling by roof they were coming from the direction behind the brunette woman. Naruto ignored the feeling to incapacitate them as best as he could. Right now, he couldn't afford to get into a fight.

"Uzume-san." A masculine voice said.

Naruto glanced down to see the young man trying to talk to the girl, Uzume, he had said.

Uzume looked at him. "Continuing on from earlier; hand over the 'jinki'." She said.

The man looked uneasy. "Uzume-san..um…actually, Musubi-chan is –nngh!" He was cut off as the raven haired woman covered his mouth and then whispered something in his ear.

Naruto turned his attention back towards the two other presences and saw them enter his field of vision. Both of them were girls. One had blonde hair and the other had dark hair. They were dressed in some sort of combat gear, although the latter was dressed in a miko outfit.

Naruto almost snorted. The miko wannabe looked so nervous while the blonde one was overconfident. He could see it in their strides. The two of them argued for a moment. Naruto didn't catch what they were saying though, her ears weren't as good as his used to be.

He did hear when the blonde one called out to Uzume.

"No. 10!"

The man looked at Uzume. "Uzume-sa…!"

He was cut off as the black-haired woman stepped in front of him and deflected an attack made by Uzume using a strong gust of wind.

Naruto blinked. 'Holy shit! She uses wind, and she's damn good at it!' He was impressed. Not even Temari had that much control over wind, and she was the best wind user he had known. He never beat the control she had, and he was pretty good himself.

"…I had a feeling you'd come here." The ebony-haired woman said to Uzume. She threw her left arm to the side. "But… 'The Veiled Sekirei', I cannot let you walk through the gates of Izumo Inn."

Naruto heard the blonde girl yell something but he honestly didn't care much about her at that point. She was obviously just a pawn, she probably was just following orders and knew very little if anything important. He did notice when she destroyed a portion of the fence with her bladed whips.

Naruto frowned. He was all for destruction as much as the next guy, but it usually involved gigantic explosions of epic proportions and it wasn't someone's home. He did a double-take as a figure clothed in black made their appearance from behind the fence. It was the silver-haired person.

'K-Kakashi-sensei!?' Naruto's eyes were widened considerably.

Whoever that person was, they looked eerily like his late sensei at the moment, though that was probably due to the face-mask they wore.

They said something to the blonde girl. Naruto strained his ears but only managed to catch a single word; hanya.

Suddenly their voice grew louder.

"…Guess it can't be helped." The silver-haired figure lit their hand aflame. "I, No. 06 'Homura', will be your opponent. Because if you destroy this place even more, we who were left in charge will be punished."

Naruto nodded. He could share the sentiment this Homura person had for protecting their home. It was admirable in a way.

He saw the miko wannabe try to sneak past (and rather badly), but she was stopped by the black-haired wind user.

The woman's face lacked any humor, she was dead serious. "Sorry, but no thieves or salesmen are allowed in here."

Never mind, even when she was serious it seemed she could joke.

Naruto grinned. He liked her.

The miko stumbled over her words before a large blade extended out of her sleeve. "No. 40 'Shi'! Here I go!"

Naruto looked at the weapon with an unusual interest.

"I want it…" He mumbled. "I will have one of my own, and it will be even better than hers." He grinned. He had always wanted some type of blade to extend out of his sleeve that he could use as a makeshift sword. He'd probably prefer something thinner though and with a single edge; maybe similar to the blade of a wakizashi. The sleeves of the trench coat he wore would be the perfect cover as well. He could practically picture it in his head.

The miko girl attacked the wind-woman with her sword.

Said woman blocked the attack and pulled in close to Shi. "I'm No. 03, 'Kazehana'." She gave the girl a meaningful look. "…such a poor girl, even though you're married there's no love in it…is there?"

The girl seemed frightened of Kazehana. "N-No. 03"

Naruto nodded. 'So the lower the number…the stronger the Sekirei. I get it.'

Shi looked at Uzume. "N-No. 10! Hurry and get the Jinki now!"

Naruto nearly smacked his forehead. 'I forgot about her.' He looked at the Uzume to see her staring uneasily at the young man in front of her.

She lowered her head. "Get…Get out of the way!" She launched her veil at him.

Naruto was about to intervene but his gut told him to stay his hand. He frowned. The young man obviously was an Ashikabi, so he was probably powerless without his Sekirei.

The young man withstood the attack valiantly and only received a cut to his face.

"Minato-kun!"

"Sahashi!"

'So his name's Sahashi Minato eh?' Naruto thought to himself. He stood. 'If she makes another attempt at his life I might not be able to stand aside. I'll have to be ready to fight.'

He blinked. Why did he care so much about this guy? He furrowed his brow. He didn't particularly know the guy, and he didn't really feel a connection to him in any way so he doubted Ayane knew him. He looked at Minato and saw his expression, then Naruto understood.

Minato was like Naruto. He'd do anything and everything for his loved ones. Naruto could respect that.

Minato said something to Uzume but Naruto couldn't catch the words, however his words became louder as he spoke and Naruto managed to hear Minato's final words.

"…Uzume-san, I want to save that friend!"

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"Sir, I have the target in sight 400 km north-northeast from my position."

"Understood, what is the status?"

"She's standing on a rooftop. She appears to be watching the North and his Sekirei."

"No, no…this is odd."

"What do you mean sir?"

"That girl isn't the same as when we brought her in. She's changed somehow…"

"Sir?"

"Nothing. Keep an eye on her. If she moves to intercept, take the shot. We'll recover her afterwards."

"Sir, she may be one girl, but she's still a Sekirei. Is one tranquilizer going to be enough?"

"The dart I have supplied is strong enough to knock out a small third world country, it should be plenty for 'one girl', so long as you don't miss."

"Understood sir!"

"Good, keep her in your sights."

"Roger!"

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Naruto smacked a hand against his forehead.

"You perverted Ashikabi! Touching my breasts in the middle of the confusion! Let me go!"

Naruto sighed. Even at this distance he could see that there wasn't any intent to harm from either Uzume or Minato.

He twitched when he felt a flare of energy from a distance away. He noticed that none of the combatants below noticed it and frowned. 'Am I the only one who can sense their energy? Actually, now that I think about it…how did I sense the Sekirei from all the way where I was…could this be Ayane's power? Is she a sensor-type?' He shook his head. 'I'll figure that out later.'

He looked back down to see Minato pull something out of his pocket. The word 'cellphone' popped into his head. Ayane had one herself years ago.

"Ye-yes! Matsu-san!?"

Everyone turned to Minato.

Minato smiled brightly as someone said something to him from the other end. He looked at Uzume. "Uzume-san!"

Tears flowed liberally from Uzume's face. "Sasashi-chan…everyone."

Minato shut his cellphone. "Everything's going well Uzume-san."

Naruto sighed to himself. He looked to the sky. "Well, this was interesting. So Sekirei can control elements pretty damn good or they're highly trained with weapons. They probably have other abilities too. This Minato guy has at least two high leveled Sekirei. He seems like a trustworthy guy. I'll have to keep an eye on him. Now I have to find a safe place." He looked down again. Uzume was on Minato's phone. She was crying once more. She put the phone down with a relieved smile.

The blonde Sekirei glared at Uzume. "What do you think you're doing No. 10!?"

Uzume looked sideways at the girl. "I'm sorry. I don't have a reason to help you guys anymore... Sorry." Her voice lacked any true remorse. She gestured at Homura and Kazehana. "You know, those nee-sans over there are really strong. You won't be able to beat them." Her expression hardened. "Just leave."

Shi had a frightened expression while the blonde girl (now Naruto kind of regretted not catching her name, it was getting annoying to refer to her as "blonde girl") looked annoyed.

"What did you say!? There's no way we can just leave!" She glared at the North's Sekirei. "We're 'The East's' Sekirei, you know!"

Shi and the other girl prepared combat stances. "Sekirei who are of no use to Master…" She clenched her bladed whips in her hand. "Have no reason to exist!"

Naruto frowned deeply at that statement. 'No reason to exist?' His mind returned to the conversation he had with Death.

You must release them from the shackles placed on them.

'Is this what he meant? I gotta free them from their abusive Ashikabi or something?'

Homura and Kazehana prepared their own stances.

"I guess that means we have no choice but to fight..." Flames flickered viciously from Homura's hand and Homura's expression was serious. "If that's the case..." Homura trailed off.

A gust of wind surrounded Kazehana's hand, flower petals swirled dangerously around her arm. "We'll fight using all of our strength as 'Sekirei'."

The blond Sekirei grit her teeth. She snapped her whip back. "Dammit!" She whipped her weapon forward.

Shi used her arm to thrust her sword at the two single number Sekirei, crying out all the while.

The experienced Sekirei were quiet. Until, simultaneously they moved.

"Kaze no Tachi."

"Honoo no Tsurugi."

Each Sekirei's right arm was engulfed in their respective element.

The "East's" Sekirei screamed as Homura's and Kazehana's attack connected. Their tops were ripped to shreds and their naked torsos were exposed, but they were defeated.

Homura and Kazehana gazed sadly at their fallen sisters. Homura glanced at the sky, right where Naruto had perched.

"Shit." Naruto moved away from the ledge.

"We know you're there! Our security system knew you were here from the beginning! So come on out and we can deal with this peacefully."

Naruto sighed. He hated his luck. As he was right then, he wouldn't last a minute against both of them. They were very powerful and in the condition his current body was in he doubted he could outrun them. Normal humans were one thing, Sekirei were an entirely different ball game.

However they seemed to be decent people, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad? He hoped at least. "Alright!" He shouted. He moved forward to jump down. "I'm coming do-!"

Something struck Naruto in the back of his neck. His vision faded rapidly. The last thing he remembered was leaning forward and falling off of the roof.

XxXxXxXxXx

"Miss!" Minato ran to the girl. She had fallen off of the roof like a dead-weight. None of his Sekirei had been prepared to catch her and she had crashed into the blond Sekirei who called herself Sai. Minato wasn't sure if she had been deactivated before but she was now.

Kagari ran next Minato and knelt at the girl's side. He checked her pulse. Kagari sighed. "She's alive." His eyes narrowed. He reached around and plucked something from behind her hair. He pulled it towards his face. "Tranquilizers." He sniffed the needle and recoiled. "And it's strong." Kagari looked at Minato. "Sahashi, this is a military grade tranquilizer."

Minato frowned. "Military…" His eyes widened. "MBI!?" He looked at his Sekirei. "Do you think she's from MBI!? Could she be a Sekirei?"

Kazehana frowned. "I don't remember seeing one that looked like that, but she does feel a little bit like one of us."

Uzume walked up next to Minato and looked at the girl. "Wait a sec Sahashi-chan. I recognize her."

Minato looked at Uzume curiously. "You know her?"

Uzume smiled awkwardly. "Well, not exactly. I spoke to her right before…well you know."

Minato smiled slightly. "What was your impression Uzume-san?"

Uzume shrugged. "I can't say for sure, but she seemed fine with just observing."

Kagari narrowed his eyes. "Could she be one of the East's?"

Kazehana bent over the girl, giving Minato a gratuitous shot of her rather impressive cleavage. She moved the girl's red hair and shook her head. "If she is a Sekirei, she hasn't been winged."

Kagari crossed his arms. "That's impossible. I was the last un-winged."

Uzume raised a finger. "Actually that Ice Sekirei; Akitsu hasn't been winged."

"Akitsu is a discarded number, she can't be winged. This one doesn't have the mark on her forehead."

Minato smiled awkwardly. "Come one guys, let's bring her inside. It's no use arguing over it. We'll just wait until she wakes up."

Minato's Sekirei, along with Uzume, exchanged glances before nodding.

"Aah~~! That's my Minato-kun! He's so kind." Kazehana glomped Minato. She rubbed his head affectionately.

Kagari sighed and shook his head. "…Definitely not interested." He grabbed the girl and lifted her bridal style. "I'll take her inside and put her in one of the spare rooms."

Minato managed to pry Kazehana off of him. "Thanks, Kagari-san." He smiled earnestly at the Flame Sekirei.

Kagari looked away from Minato quickly. "Don't mention it!" His voice cracked.

Uzume smiled at the display. "It feels good to be back to normal."

Minato grinned. "What are you saying Uzume-san? You've been on a long walk is all, nothing's changed." He stood up and extended his hand. "Welcome home, Uzume-san."

Uzume began to tear up. She moved forward and hugged Minato tightly. "…I'm home." She whispered against Minato's shoulder.

Minato patted her back softly. There was the sudden sound of a helicopter from above. Minato sighed.

They were here for the East's Sekirei.

However something odd happened. "Sahashi Minato!" A loud voice boomed from above.

Minato frowned. They had never done this before. It was usually low-key, more or less.

Minato looked up. Kazehana was already in a position to defend them if she needed to. Uzume reluctantly released Minato and stood by him.

Up in the helicopter, a man in a scientist's garb held a mega-phone. "Hand over the girl." He ordered.

Minato's eyes narrowed slightly. He saw Kagari switch his hold on the girl and brought her closer to his chest.

"Sahashi, they're dangerous."

"What do you mean, Kagari-san?"

"That symbol on the tail of that helicopter…I know that symbol, but only through hearsay. If they're who I think they are, that's the ACSRT; the Advanced Classified Sekirei Research Team." Kagari frowned through his mask. "Like I said, I've never seen them in person, but it's rumored that they do research that even Minaka himself won't do, not only that, but the team has its own goddamn army. If they're after this girl…she must be important." He looked at Minato. "We can't let them have her. Between them and Minaka, I'd rather take Minaka."

Minato frowned. He knew of Kagari intense dislike for the MBI C.E.O. For Kagari to say the ACSRT could be worse was troubling news. He looked at the man in the helicopter.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that!" He shouted at the man.

"…You're playing a dangerous game, Sahashi Minato." The man warned. "Don't make us take her by force."

Kazehana and Uzume stood in front of Kagari.

"Just try it!" Uzume challenged. If Minato decided to protect the girl, she would follow his lead.

Kazehana raised her hand. "You are outmatched in this battle! You should run with your tail between your legs like good little boys!" A swirling mass of wind roared from her hand.

There was a short silence between them before the man spoke again.

"You have forced our hand then. We will withdraw for now, this is not the last you will see from us."

The helicopter tilted backwards and soon faded from view.

Minato sighed. He looked at his friends and smiled weakly. "Let's go home."

XxXxXxXxXx

"How long are you going to ignore me?"

"I'm not ignoring you, I'm thinking."

"Oh that must be difficult, since you're an imbecile."

"I'm sorry, whose skills got us out of that lab?"

"That doesn't change that fact that you're an idiot. It just proves you're a talented idiot."

"Listen here, if you're just gonna insult me I'll ignore you for real this time and I won't tell you shit!"

"…I'm listening."

"Thank you. Now, let me bring you up to speed."

"That shouldn't be too difficult for you."

"…"

"…Sorry, please continue."

"Fine, I'll be blunt. We're the same person."

"Excuse me? In what world do you live in? We are obviously different people. I'm obviously smarter, I'm a black-belt in two different martial arts, and I'm better looking to boot, while you're obviously nothing but a rude, body-stealing, imbecilic pervert!"

"Oi! You and I both know we needed to change clothes! Don't pull that shit with me!"

"…You didn't have to enjoy it so much."

"Anyways…Going back to what I was saying. What I meant was, we have the same soul."

"Oh no, no, no. You are not pulling this 'soul mates' bullshit on me."

"What!? No! Goddamn it let me explain!"

"Please do."

"You're my reincarnation."

"…"

"…"

"That's it! I've finally lost my mind! Hello, mother? I'm crazy!"

"You're not crazy!"

"Oh yeah? Where is your proof?"

"Our chakra!"

"…our what?"

"Cha-ku-ra. You ever notice a type of energy or something inside of you? It made you stronger or faster when you needed it too?"

"Well…now that you mention it…"

"That's chakra. Our chakra has the exact same signature!"

"I still don't see the proof."

"Here, hold my hand."

"No."

"I can't show you unless you do."

"No."

"Just do it."

"I'm not holding hands with a pervert."

"For fucks sake. Don't you get it? We're the same person. That means your body is my body too now!"

"Well until you return to your own."

"I can't!"

"…What? What do you mean?"

"Didn't you hear me? You're my reincarnation! I died…a long time ago."

"A-Are you serious?"

"'Dead' serious."

"…"

"…"

"Hehe…heheheh! Hahahahahahaha! 'Dead' serious! Hahahahaha!"

"Hehehehaha! See! We've got the same sense of humor!"

"Hehe! Okay, okay! Fine. Gimme your hand."

"Okay. Now close your eyes."

"Roger."

"Now focus on my hand."

"…"

"Do you feel that?"

"I-It's so warm."

"That's what chakra should feel like. Does it feel familiar?"

"Yes, intimately. Like…like it belongs to me."

"It belongs to us."

"…It feels nice. Is this what you always feel like?"

"Actually, when I was alive I had at least twenty times more than we do now."

"That must have been nice."

"It was…"

"So…can I take my hand back now?"

"Uh Wha-? Oh yeah, sure."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"And, er…thanks…for helping me escape…"

"No problem. We're in this together."

"Yes. I suppose we are."

"Yeah."

"Now this 'mission' you mentioned earlier…what is it?"

"Well…I mentioned I met Death right?"

"I didn't believe you at first, but yes you did."

"Well…he told me about a rift in the balance between life and death."

"So, like everything goes into Limbo?"

"There is no Limbo."

"What?"

"I know, I said the same thing. Just trust me on this. You'll remember eventually."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, sorry to say this, but death merged our souls."

"I thought you said we had the same soul."

"Right, what I meant was, he merged our 'incarnations' or something like that. So eventually, we're supposed to have all of each other's memories...as unlucky as that is."

"…All of them?"

"That what he said."

"Even…private ones?"

"Trust me…there are some things I don't want you to see either…but that's what he told me. That's all I know. For what it's worth, he could be wrong. He said he was omnipresent, not omniscient. Maybe it's the first time he's done this and there are things he doesn't know. Or maybe he fucked up, maybe the pull of our personalities are just too strong to combine like that. I mean, you don't wanna disappear and I don't wanna disappear. Maybe our soul did something that Death didn't expect once we were back in our body. I don't fucking know. Let's just hope he did screw up."

"Yeah, here's hoping."

"…Anyways. Getting back on topic, he told me that the rift had something to do with the Sekirei."

"Se-Se-Seki-ow!"

"What's wrong!?"

"I-I don't know. I try to think about the word and it hurts me."

"Well, Death said that your soul…"

"Wait, what about my soul?"

"…"

"Hey, you can't leave me without this precious information!"

"…"

"Dammit! Talk to me!"

"…"

"…Say something…"

"…He said that your soul had been broken."

"…What?"

"When you were captured, those assholes did something to your body and it destroyed your soul. That's why Death put the two of us together. He said that my soul was the strongest our soul has ever been. And that I could help heal yours."

"Damn you! Why me!? What did-Why me!?"

"I don't know, but I want to help you. If you let me-"

"And what makes you so fucking special huh!? How can you help me with this suffering!?"

"Hey, I know what it's like to suffer! I suffered since the day I was born. My family was dead, my village hated me and I didn't have a goddamn clue why for twelve long, hard years! So trust me, I've been where you've been."

"O-Oh. I-I'm sorry. I didn't-. I'm sorry."

"Haah…It's fine. It's just been a long time since I've thought about it is all. No harm, no foul."

"Where did you hear that?"

"I…don't know actually. That wasn't a phrase back when I was alive."

"I see. Some of our memories may be assimilating already. If I focus I can see a blurry image…a swing I think and I can feel immense sense of loneli- oh, never mind."

"…"

"…Will we just…disappear as someone else takes our place? Someone neither me nor you?"

"…No. I won't let it."

"What?"

"Neither one of wants to go quietly into the night. We each want to live on for reasons. You because it's your life after all, and I have something I want to protect. I'm not gonna let us die so easily."

"What can you do to stop it if it does happen?"

"I'll do what I do best."

"And what is that?"

"I won't give up! I promise, even though we have to share this body, I won't let our personalities be erased like that! It's the promise of a lifetime."

"Promises are easily broken."

"Not mine! I always keep my promises. That's my nindo; my ninja way!"

"…I'll put my faith in you then."

"I won't let you down."

"So…can I regain control of my body yet?"

"It's our body, and not just yet. You're not ready."

"Who are you to determine that? I feel fine."

"Your body is frail, and your soul is weaker. I have to train your body while you recover."

"But I feel fine!"

"Don't you remember your time at the lab? There's no way you're just 'fine'."

"My time at t-th-th-th-gah!"

"Whoa! Are you okay!?"

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

"Whoa! Calm down, calm down! I'm here, I'm here."

"I-I'm frightened. What did they do to me!? It's so painful… W-What happened to me…?"

"Shh, I've got you. I've got you. You're safe."

"Don't leave me alone…"

"No, never. You're not alone here. You'll always have me, I'm here."

"…you were right."

"Shh. You need to rest."

"No, you're right…I can't even remember the trauma without collapsing in convulsions…I'm not ready. I'm not sure I ever will be again…"

"Hey! I went into this mess because I wanted to save you. If you give up on me now I would have dragged my ass out here for nothing."

"…What if I just gave you my body? What if I just let you keep it…and never returned?"

"Why you!?"

"Ow! You slapped me!"

"Did that wake you up!? I'm not gonna let you wallow in self-pity! Like it or not, you and me have the same soul, and I'll be damned if any version of myself gives up! You have the power of a ninja in your body, and a ninja endures goddamn it! Through all the shit life deals us and the pain we go through. We endure! Do you understand me?"

"…"

"Do you understand me?"

"…yes."

"Now are you gonna fight these fuckers that did this to you?"

"I…"

"You have to show them that you're stronger than they are. They made you this way, so use that power to kick their ass. Use it, so they can't do it anyone else again."

"…"

"Well?"

"…You make a convincing argument."

"Are you going to fight?"

"Yes…I think I will."

"Good. Don't forget that goal while you're in here resting. It'll keep you strong. We can deal with any pain that comes along head first after that."

"Hah, got it. Take care of me…of us."

"Of course. After all, we're one in the same."

"Fufu, how confusing. What would we be called?"

"Well, my name's too masculine, cause it ends in '-to'. So maybe while I'm in charge I'll just go by Naru. I could go by 'Naruko', but I don't think I could live with it for the rest of my life. Since it was originally your body, you can use your given name."

"So perhaps a combination, for both of us?"

"Yeah."

"…Naru Ayane."

"I was thinking Ayane Naru."

"No."

"But-!"

"No."

"C'mon it has a ring to it."

"N. O. No. It's moronic. Ayane cannot be a surname."

"Says who?"

"Says me. My body, my rules."

"Our body."

"Mine originally."

"…"

"…"

"Fine. We'll go by Naru Ayane."

"Excellent."

"I see you're feeling better."

"Indeed."

"…"

"…You can let go now."

"R-Right."

"Don't be so embarrassed. I'm just a girl. Unless…you're a virgin aren't you."

"What!? No I'm not!"

"Haha. I'd like to see you prove it."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Oh good god! I did not want that memory! My eyes! It burns! I cannot un-see it!"

"Told you."

"You bastard!"

"I'd like to see you do better."

"I can't. I'm a virgin."

"But then…"

"It's alright for a woman to remain a virgin. It's just sad for a man."

"Isn't that a double-standard?"

"I'm impressed you even know what that is, but yes. It is, however I find myself lacking in the fucks I give. Oh! I-I…I've never said that before."

"Haha. Doesn't feel good being on the other end now does it?"

"…You're an ass."

"I love you too."

"You'd better. I'm the last woman you'll hug as a man. From now on it's only men for you."

"…"

"…"

"…That was just cruel."

"…"

"…I love it! Oh man! You dohave a prankster inside of you after all."

"Er…what?"

"Nothing."

"Right... how long have we been here?"

"Well, given my expertise in all things mind-scape, I'd say about 24 hours, give or take a few hours."

"Mind-scape?"

"Gotta call this place something right? I had one when I was alive, but it didn't look anything like this."

"What was it?"

"It was… Um, that's not very important. Let's just say it wasn't as nice as this. I like your mind-scape better."

"The forest? Yes it's pretty, but it's not my ideal vacation."

"I love it. Just like home. Doesn't it have that homey feeling to it? Don't you feel relaxed just being here?"

"Riiight…Listen, I-"

"Did you feel that?"

"Yes, I feel…light."

"It means we're waking up. I'll be going."

"Wait! Am I going to be stuck here alone!?"

"Of course not. If this is anything like mine was, we have a telepathic link. If you need me, just call. But you really should just focus on resting. After you're recovered some more we can focus on communicating openly."

"Alright…"

"Hey, you'll be alright."

"I believe you."

"I'll see you later, Shinboku Ayane."

"I'll see you later, Uzumaki Naruto."

XxXxXxXxXx

"You goddamned fool!" Sahashi Takami slammed a larger person against the wall viciously. "You made two mistakes. First you continued that damnable experiment without my authorization. I don't care what Minaka says, those decisions are my authority. That poor girl has suffered enough at the hands of you and Minaka, Sagawa Eichiro. It would have been bad enough if it had been a faulty adjustment like No. 07, but no. You created a Sekirei. You implanted an artificial core inside an innocent human. You ruined her humanity."

"She had a unique power. She was unlike any human, Ashikabi or-"

Takami growled. "I wouldn't give a rats ass if she Jesus fucking Christ reborn. You destroyed her humanity and her life. Now she's been put in this goddamn game when she never needed to be. I read her files. She graduated two years early, at the top of her class no less. She was pursuing a career in Criminal Science, Sagawa, Criminal fucking Science. She had a future and you ruined it. You are damn lucky she still lives, because if she hadn't…well, you're a relatively smart person, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Sagawa looked into Takami's eyes coldly. "She can sen-"

"Interrupt me again and I will show you a fate worse than death." Takami cut him off. She gave him a terse glare. "The second mistake you did was threatening my son. Not only have made an enemy of four single-digit Sekirei, you've made an enemy of me. And I'm someone you don't fuck with." She narrowed her eyes. "So, as of this moment, your employment with MBI is terminated. Your assets will be frozen and your property seized. Your command over the PMC company; Raven Corps is stripped. Why we ever allowed you to hire them is beyond me. You have one hour to collect your things and vacate the premises. After that…MBI forces have permission to shoot on sight." Takami pushed Sagawa into the wall and about-faced, uncaring about his reaction or any arguments he could come up with. She reached into the pocket of her lab coat and retrieved a cigarette. She placed it in her mouth and took out her lighter.

"I'm warning you now, Eichiro. If I see you, or I hear you've been harassing my son or the girl. Your life is forfeit." Takami walked away. She tried to light her cigarette several times only for the lighter to sputter uselessly.

"Tch." She gritted her teeth and threw the lighter against the wall roughly. It shattered but Takami paid little attention to it. She stuffed her cigarette into her coat pocket, intent on reducing it to cinders at a later time that day. She walked further for a little while before she reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed the number she knew she had to dial.

The phone rang several times before it was finally picked up.

-Mom?-

Takami sighed. "Hello again, Minato."

-Is something wrong with Chiho-san?-

"No, she's doing fine. I'm calling about the girl."

-Oh.-

"I need you to take care of her."

-W-What? Me?-

"Yes."

-Um…why? Is something wrong with her?-

"In a sense…" Takami muttered under her breath.

-What was that?-

"Nothing. That girl…was dealt a bad hand. I just need you to look after her until she's ready to stand on her own."

-…She's a Sekirei, isn't she Mom?-

Damn that intellect of his. Takami sighed. "In a way. Look, I can't speak about this over the phone. I'll call you when I can meet you in person."

-…Alright Mom.-

"Take care, Minato."

-You too Mom. Love you.-

Takami smiled softly. She needed to hear that. It grounded her to the fact that despite the atrocities she had allowed Minaka to pursue, she was still human. "…Yeah…you too."

Minato hung up the phone and Takami was left to hear the silence that surrounded her.

She pocketed her phone and frowned. Somehow, she knew that she'd have to deal with Eichiro Sagawa once more. A man like that didn't give up so easily. She had enough problems dealing with one mad scientist…she didn't need two.

Maybe she should have just had him killed?

She shook her head. A man of his position had contacts outside of MBI, it was almost guaranteed. He'd be the bait to lead her to the core. He had to have gotten his funding from somewhere. She'd burn the whole damn snake in a single blow. Eichiro was going to pay.

She put the thought out of her mind for now. Now, she had a madman to lecture. After all, it all started with Minaka.

XxXxXxXxXx

Naruto groaned as he felt a bright light shine on his eyes.

"Hey, she's waking up."

"Excellent detective skills, Uzume. You impress me more and more every day."

"That was mean and uncalled for, Homura-chan."

"…I'm going to get Sahashi."

"Fine, fine."

Naruto slowly cracked his eyes open as he heard the door close softly.

"How do you feel?"

Naruto waited a moment for his eyes to adjust. "Like hammered shit." He paused. Another phrase he didn't remember saying.

Uzume laughed. "I like you."

Naruto turned his head to look Uzume in the face. She was happier now. The sorrow he had previously seen was gone. "Gotta tell you something…" He started.

She tilted her head. "What?"

Naruto managed a cheeky grin. "If that was your last show, it was terrible. I hope you do a better job next time."

Uzume blinked before roaring with laughter. "Oh man! A woman after my own heart." She wiped a tear from her eye.

The door opened again and Naruto saw the young Minato enter. He had a kind smile on his face and a bandage on the cut he had received from Uzume. "I'm happy to see you awake. We were worried."

Naruto managed a smile. "Thanks for, you know, taking care of me. How long was I out?"

"A little over a day. I had Kagari-san watch over you. He's the silver haired one."

"That's a man!?"

Uzume began to giggle. "For now, just roll with. Homura would appreciate it if you referred to him as a guy."

Naruto suddenly liked the Flame Sekirei that much more. He was dealing with a similar situation.

"Wait, so is he Homura, or Kagari?"

"Either works, but I'd stick with Homura if I were you." Uzume smiled. "Speaking of, what is the name of our resident stalker?"

Naruto flushed. "I wasn't stalking…" He muttered. He cleared his throat. "Um… my name, right?"

"Yes, if you don't mind." Minato answered.

Naruto sighed.

This was it; the point of no return.

"For now, call me Naru-." He had to cut himself off from saying the last syllable out of habit…which is understandable considering it was his name after all. It was hard though, even after he spoke about it with Ayane…it was hard to just let go of what it meant to him. His name was the only thing he had that was worth anything growing up. He made sure everyone knew who he was, because if he didn't he was afraid he'd vanish one day and no one would even notice.

"Naru is it? It's simple, but cute too."

Minato nodded. "It's nice to meet you Naru-san. I'm-"

"Sahashi Minato. The brunette next to me is Uzume. The silver haired guy is Homura or Kagari and the wind user is Kazehana." Naruto listed.

Minato smiled. "Yes, you have good memory."

Despite only being Hokage for a couple of weeks Naruto had been forced to memorize strategies, policies, and other general, and rather boring (to him at least) information, so remembering a few names was like child's play to him. However he wasn't going to say any of that to them.

Naruto shrugged as best as he could while lying down. He scowled as he noticed something wrong with his body's movement, that is to say, the lack of it. "By the way…why can't I move?"

"Oh! Homura mentioned this. He said that the tranquilizer was so powerful that even when you wake up you wouldn't be able to move for a day or two."

Naruto frowned. That was a huge hindrance. "Damn."

"Did you have someplace to be, Naru-san?"

Naruto looked at Minato and shrugged again. "Not really, but I have to find someplace to stay."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that."

Naruto blinked. "I don't?"

Minato nodded. "Yes, an 'anonymous benefactor' has personally paid for you to stay here at Maison Izumo, indefinitely." He smiled shyly.

"And this benefactor is…?" As far as he knew, he didn't have any friends. Well none that were living. They might be Ayane's, but he highly doubted any of them knew where she was let alone what she was now, so he was clueless as to the identity of this "benefactor".

"Aha…I'm afraid they asked me to keep it a secret until they're ready."

Naruto sighed. As odd as it was, it was a convenient solution. Granted it only solved one of his many problems. "Alright, thanks."

Minato waved it off. "Think nothing of it."

Naruto's stomach decided to interject in the conversation via a ferociously loud grumble. Its respective owners face burned in embarrassment.

Minato laughed amicably. "You're in luck, Naru-san. Miya-san is almost finished with dinner." He looked at Uzume. "Uzume-san, can you make sure Naru-san makes it to the table? I think everyone would like to meet her."

Uzume nodded happily. "Sure thing Sahashi-chan." She shoed him away. "Now leave. I have to dress her."

Minato nodded and quietly left the room.

Naruto looked at Uzume. "…He's a nice guy."

"Haha, you don't know the half of it." Uzume reached under Naruto and pulled his body into a sitting position. "Alright, try to move your arms."

Naruto nodded. With a little bit of effort, he managed to get both of his arms to move. However his range of motion was extremely limited, but it seemed he would be able to feed himself.

Uzume nodded. "Awesome! That'll make this easier. Alright now hold still." She moved in front of Naruto and managed to pry off Naruto's shirt and bra. She gave him a concerned look over before turning around towards a closet. "You're kind of thin. Miya's probably gonna feed you till you burst wide open!" She opened the closet and retrieved a dark blue robe. She laid the robe on a chair and moved back towards Naruto.

Naruto laughed softly. "Good, I'm starving."

Uzume smiled. She grabbed Naruto by the armpits. "Upsy-daisy." She lifted him easily.

If Naruto hadn't already felt emasculated…he did now. Uzume sat him down on a chair and pried off his pants. It seemed they had already taken the liberty of removing his shoes. Naruto's face burned a bright red throughout the entire ordeal.

Luckily Uzume didn't humiliate him further by removing his underwear. Instead she grabbed the robe and instructed him to put his arms through each sleeve. After that she made sure that the robe was decent and secured before she smiled. "You look cute in it."

"Oh, um…thanks?" Naruto asked, unsure how to take the compliment.

"Not used to compliments?"

"Not…exactly."

"Oh well, you'll have plenty of time to get used to it."

Uzume didn't know the half of it. He had the rest of his life to get used to it.

"Now just wait here, I'll grab the wheelchair."

Naruto visibly cringed. Never in his life had he needed a wheelchair. His own natural healing powers and those of the Kyuubi kept him fit for most of his life. Even his most serious injuries never reduced him a wheelchair. He had seen what it did to Lee…he was not looking forward to the next few days.

Speaking of the Kyuubi…he wondered how Kurama was doing. What had happened to the old fox after he died? As far as he knew, chakra constructs don't necessarily die the same way normal mortals did. Something about reforming or something, he wasn't sure, it was a long time ago.

Uzume noticed his foul expression and giggled. "Don't worry too much about it. According to Homura you only have a few days like this."

Naruto gave Uzume an awkward smile. "That's what worries me."

Uzume grinned as she left the room.

Naruto waited alone as Uzume retrieved the wheelchair from wherever it was being stored. He furrowed his brow. 'I wonder who that benefactor Minato was talking about. It seemed like he knew them.' He shook his head as his stomach growled once again, somehow even louder than before. 'Aah! I can barely think straight I'm so damn hungry!' He made a decision; it was definitely important and could possibly concern the fate of the world as they knew it. 'I'm going to eat a whole bunch!'

Naruto chuckled softly. Okay, so maybe not the whole world. 'This body needs the carbs anyways. Ayane said she did martial arts so her body should have more muscle than this.' He frowned. That could only mean one thing.

She had been held captive for at least a year. He didn't know much about muscle atrophy but Lee had said that it was a terrible feeling, but he was able to get back in shape relatively quickly. He recovered quick enough to take on Kimimaro and that was after a couple months and it was only two limbs, she was extremely thin and weak. It was a miracle they survived the landing, and that was only because he channeled chakra into their legs at the last minute.

He shook his head, she was free now- they were free now. 'After I put a little bit of weight on this body and can move again I'm putting us through the wringer. I can't do shit like I am now. First things first, I have to increase her stamina. Just getting to the damn Inn nearly made me pass out. If I got into a fight after that, I don't wanna think about what would have happened. After that, I'll have to have rame- wait. I meant muscle training, we need to get faster if we want to fight bigger and stronger opponents. After that is a long and hard process of chowing down on sweet tender pork on a barbe- goddamn it I'm starving!'

"Are you done fantasizing about food?"

"No, I still have a whole list left to go. Next is beef buns."

"Well it'll have to wait. Dinner's ready! Let's get you some grub! Real grub."

Naruto grinned widely at Uzume. "Best thing I've heard all day!"

Naruto didn't even mind it that much when the taller girl lifted him for a second time and placed him on the wheelchair she had retrieved.

"Usually, new tenants have to stay on the second floor, but Miya decided that until you recover you'll stay on the first floor." Uzume explained as she pushed the chair out of the door.

"Who is Miya? I've heard you guys say her name a couple times."

"Oh, she's the landlady. She owns the inn." Uzume shrugged. "She's really strict but she's fair. Just don't piss her off."

Naruto nodded. 'She sounds a little bit like Tsunade-baachan.'

Uzume pushed Naruto towards a room that seemed to be quite loud. She slid the door open and pushed Naruto inside. "We're here!" She announced.

The room quieted instantly and all eyes were on the duo. Naruto did a mental head count. There were four people in the room he had yet to meet…and there was another in the ceiling above them. He saw Homura sitting off to the side, he also saw Minato sitting at the end with a little blonde girl sitting in his lap.

A young buxom girl approached him excitedly. She was a brunette who had her hair cut into a hime style cut with the rest tied with a ribbon. She had bright brown eyes that gleamed with a childlike wonder.

"Oh you must be Naru! Minato-sama told me you'd be staying here from now on! I'm so happy to meet you! I'm Sekirei No. 88 'Musubi' and I'm a fist-type!" She said incredibly fast.

Naruto barely managed to catch all of that. "Nice to meet you Musubi."

"Leave her be you brutish beast. Can you not see that you are stifling her?" Another buxom woman berated Musubi. She had stood up and glared at Musubi. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore some kind of fancy dress that left very little to the imagination. Naruto could nearly see her panties.

"Calm down, Panty-Flasher. Naru-chan seems just fine –hic-!" Naruto glanced to the side to see Kazehana cradling a large bottle of liquor.

"You dare address me by that ridiculous moniker?" The girl glared fiercely at Kazehana. It looked like she'd snap and toss herself at Kazehana at a moment's notice to Naruto.

Minato smiled and raised his arms in a placating manner. "Come on now Tsukiumi. We shouldn't fight at the table." He glanced to the side uneasily. "Let's make a good impression."

Tsukiumi flushed. "O-Of course, husband." She sat back down. She looked at Naruto. "I am Sekirei No. 09, The Water Sekirei. You may call me Tsukiumi."

Naruto managed to wave at Tsukiumi. "It's nice to meet you."

Suddenly the stench of alcohol invaded his nostrils. Kazehana draped an arm over Naruto. "Fufufu. I'm glad to see –hic- you're awake. You gave us quite the –hic- scare. Falling from the sky like that."

"You're drunk again…" Homura sighed. He looked at Naruto and nodded. "How are you feeling?"

Naruto smiled in embarrassment. "I'd feel a lot better if I could move."

Homura smiled sympathetically. "I don't know much about medicine sorry. A…friend of mine once showed me how to deal with the aftereffects of tranquilizers."

Naruto grinned. "I'll just have to thank 'em when I get the chance."

He chuckled. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. My name is Homura."

"Naru."

Kazehana pushed the bottle towards Naruto's mouth. "C'mon, have a drink with Kazehana-oneesan. –hic-."

A heavy aura weighed down on the room. "Kazehana-san, you're not offering alcohol to a minor in my inn are you?" A young woman in a light purple kimono said softly. She had waist length purple hair cut in a traditional hime style. She had purple eyes as well.

Naruto blinked. Was he…was he seeing that right?

There was a demonic visage hovering behind the woman while she maintained an amicable smile.

Naruto saw everyone in the room tense and begin to sweat. Kazehana released Naruto quickly and moved the bottle to her opposite hand. Naruto simply raised an eyebrow.

'That's one hell of a genjutsu. Shit, that looks extremely advanced too. If I didn't know any better I'd say it was real. I can actually taste the fear in the air…yuck.'

The woman looked at him and her eyes widened a fraction of an inch.

Naruto grinned in return. When you've faced down someone who was revered as having god-like strength and lived with a huge nine-tailed demon fox hell-bent on your death all your, you gain a new perspective on fear. Ergo, a demonic illusion, as good a genjutsu as it was, didn't faze him. "You must be Miya, the landlady."

A loud bump sounded from the ceiling. "It's not possible!" A head popped down from one of the tiles. "M-Miya-tan had no effect!"

Miya gave the girl a pointed look. "You shouldn't shout out things needlessly…Matsu-san."

"Eh!? S-Sorry Miya-taaan!" The girl gripped her face. In her fear she slipped from the ceiling and fell to the floor in a heap.

"Aiya! That hurt Matsu's head." She cradled her head as a comedic looking bump slowly formed on the top of her head. She lifted her face and caught Naruto's gaze. She was another buxom woman with her long red-orange hair tied into two long braids on the side and the rest left loose. She wore glasses that were currently skewed, giving her an extremely comedic look to her.

Naruto smiled and waved.

Suddenly Matsu's expression changed. "Fufufu. I must learn your secret." She muttered.

Naruto felt a chill go down his spine…an eerily familiar chill, a chill so eerie one might call it…chilling. His pervert senses were tingling…

His eyebrow twitched subtly. 'Another goddamn phrase I don't remember ever hearing! Who even says that!?'

Matsu giggled perversely to herself. "Yes, I'll do this…and maybe that…ooh definitely that…yes I'll give you such pleasure that you'll divulge the secret to overcoming- ow!"

Matsu was cut off as a long wooden stick bashed the top of her head courtesy of Miya.

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly. 'That's no stick, that's a sword.'

He had seen Sasuke's chokuto enough times to notice the extremely thin slit where the hilt met the scabbard.

'So the landlady's a scary swordswoman?' He thought to himself.

Miya smiled in a sickly sweet manner. "What have I told you about speaking of perverted thoughts inside Maison Izumo? In front of children no less."

"B-But Miya-tan!"

"No buts, unless you'd rather I feed your dinner to Musubi-chan." She pointed at the aforementioned girl who beamed at the thought of extra food.

The mention of dinner, however, made one very hungry former blond's stomach roar.

Miya looked at Naruto before smiling. "On that cue, Musubi-chan?"

"Right, Landlady!" Musubi sped away from Naruto towards the kitchen.

Naruto glanced backwards at Uzume to see her smiling softly. She looked at him and her smile widened into a grin. "Let's get you settled. I'll set you next to me." She moved around the wheelchair and picked Naruto up bridal-style.

Now nothing could make him feel more emasculated than he felt than and there and his face burned hot enough to showcase it. It took all of his effort to not squeak in surprise, because Uzumaki Naruto did not squeak.

Uzume winked at him.

Naruto sent a light glare towards her.

"Y'know, if I wasn't so devoted to my Chiho I might've invited you for a threesome." She said wistfully. "Your reactions are just adorable."

Naruto's face had reinvented the definition of red. "T-T-Threesome!?" He had only ever been in a 'twosome' before and he was a man then. He really wasn't interested in finding out how being on the other side felt like.

Naruto felt a twinge of pain from his head. "We're not getting in a threesome."

He ignored Ayane's interjection in order to focus on making his blush diminish, though he was failing.

Uzume grinned mischievously. "Hehe, see?"

"Ahem…Uzume-san." Miya gave her a look.

"Shit…I forgot about Miya." Uzume muttered under her breath.

Tsukiumi's face burned nearly as bright as Naruto's at the moment. "Y-Y-You lewd harlot! You speak of such actions behind your Ashikabi's back!?"

Uzume smirked. "There are a lot of actions I would do 'behind my Ashikabi's back'."

Tsukiumi pointed at Uzume with her mouth agape. "A-A-A-"

Homura sighed, though his cheeks were slightly dusted pink, mostly from embarrassment of being in the same room as the conversation "I think you broke her Uzume."

"Uzume-san." The threat was more palpable than the last time; the demonic visage was faintly visible from behind the irate landlady.

"Shutting up now."

"A wise decision."

Uzume finally put Naruto down and made sure he was sitting in a comfortable lotus position. Luckily he managed to bring his blush down to a mostly normal degree by then. She patted his shoulder before taking her own seat.

Naruto was silently grateful she hadn't tried sitting him down seiza style. He didn't think he could keep his balance for long and he was already embarrassed enough as it was.

"Food!" Musubi cheered as she hefted an enormous pot filled with curry with not a drop of sweat on her brow. She placed the pan on the table. She immediately began grabbing the nearby plates and dropping generous amounts of food onto them.

Naruto gulped at the display of strength. 'Here's hoping she's not as violent as Sakura-chan.'

He felt something tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see the little girl he had seen on Minato's lap looking at him with a smile on her face and her hands behind her back.

"Onii-chan says you were hurt which is why you can't walk." She moved her hands from behind her back and presented Naruto with a small flower in an equally small pot. "Here, this is so Onee-san can feel better soon."

Naruto was genuinely touched. It had been a long time since he had gotten a get well present. He gently grabbed the plant from her and rubbed her head. "Thank you." He smiled. "I think I feel a little better already." He placed the flower on the ground next to him. "What's your name?"

"Ku!"

"I'm Naru, nice to meet you Ku-chan."

Ku nodded happily. "Mmm!" She bounced back over to Minato's lap.

"Naru-san." Miya started. "I apologize for my rudeness earlier, we haven't been introduced as of yet." She bowed slightly. "I am the head of Maison Izumo. Asama Miya. Please enjoy your stay with us."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks for having me. I know you didn't really have to."

"No, no. My late husband would never forgive me if I turned away someone in need."

Naruto nodded. "Alright. I appreciate it."

"Of course."

"Naru-san."

"Hmm?" He looked at Minato. "What is it?"

"Let me introduce everyone for you, so there's no confusion."

Naruto nodded. "Okay." He looked at Musubi as she moved to the next person; Homura.

"There's, of course, me. You've met Musubi-chan already, as well as Kazehana-san and Kagari-san." He pointed at each as he said their name. "And Tsukiumi introduced herself earlier. This one here is Kusano, or Ku-chan for short." He patted Kusano's head softly. "Matsu-san is the one that fell out of the ceiling. I know she didn't introduce herself."

Matsu had the decency to flush in embarrassment. "Sorry Mina-tan, I was a little…distracted."

Minato smiled. "It's fine, Matsu-san." He looked at Naruto. "And that's everyone. Welcome to Maison Izumo."

Naruto nodded and flashed him a grin. "Thanks."

Musubi finally served everyone, saving Naruto for last. When she placed the plate in front of Naruto he began to salivate shamelessly…there was a lot of food. He was going to eat good that night.

Once Musubi was seated (next to Minato and opposite of Tsukiumi), as one every member of the table said their thanks. "Itadakimasu!"

XxXxXxXxXx

Dinner passed in relatively good cheer. Naruto felt oddly at home among the squabbles and boisterous personalities of Minato's various Sekirei. It was reminiscent to the days when he would hang out with the guys back in Konoha.

He wasn't left out of the verbal banter that occured either. He exchanged quips with Uzume for most of the event. She had a similar personality to his, so once the initial awkwardness had passed the two got along really well.

Dinner was over now and Naruto sat in his seat and relaxed. Miya had Musubi and Uzume take Kusano to bed a little while earlier. Matsu retreated to…wherever it was she went, but considering she fell from the ceiling, she was probably still aware of everything. She seemed like the intel gathering type of person. Homura sat at the table with his eyes shut, he seemed to be in deep thought. Kazehana took liberal swigs from her large bottle of sake.

Minato cleared the table and brought the dishes to the kitchen, where Tsukiumi was washing them. Naruto wasn't sure if it was ironic or on purpose that the Water Sekirei was stuck doing the dishes.

Minutes passed in a comfortable silence. Miya had served the remaining members of the table some herbal tea. Naruto could tell they were stalling. They made sure the youngest and most impressionable member of the household was safely out of earshot, they hadn't asked if he wanted to return to his room yet and they all seemed to be deep in thought.

Naruto eyed the tea wearily. He wasn't usually one for tea, he preferred juice. He gingerly grabbed the handle and brought the cup to his lips slowly. He took a sip and felt his eyes widened.

"This is the Senjiru method of tea brewing, and these are…Yomogi Cha leaves." He said aloud.

He blinked. 'How in the hell did I know that?'

"Impressive Naru-san. I choose these leaves because it is supposed to help the blood flow in your body. I'm glad to see my work is appreciated."

Naruto chuckled awkwardly. "It just sorta…came to me."

Tsukiumi walked in from the kitchen. "Landlady, I have finished the dishes."

"I'm glad to see your water skills are useful for important things after all." Her response was quick and scathing.

"Urk."

Miya raised a hand to her mouth. "Fufu."

Tsukiumi sat down indignantly yet still managed to retain her "regal" demeanor. Of course, she decided to sit next to Minato.

Uzume walked in rubbing her head in confusion.

"Where's Musubi-chan, Uzume-san?" Minato asked.

Uzume shrugged. "She's knocked out. She saw how comfy Ku-chan was and decided she wanted to get some sleep. It threw me for a loop." She walked forward and plopped down next to Homura.

Naruto saw the formation almost immediately. Nearly every person in the room was situated facing him. He had a feeling as to what was going to happen next.

Miya sighed. "We'll have to proceed without her." She looked at Naruto. "Naru-san. We would like to ask you some questions if you don't mind."

Naruto tensed slightly. Miya seemed to notice because her eyes narrowed a fraction. He looked at each person facing him and nodded tersely. "Okay."

Homura opened his eyes and his expression was cold. "I'll be blunt. Why in the hell is the ACSRT after you?"

Unaffected by the invasive question, Naruto raised an eyebrow. "The what?"

"The people that shot a military grade tranquilizer into the back of your neck."

"Oh, them."

"Yes, them. Why are they after you?"

Minato gave Homura a glance. "Please, Naru-san. We just want to know so that we can help."

Naruto looked down and sighed. "To be honest…I don't know why they're after me exactly. I woke up in a laboratory, about two days ago now." He furrowed his brow. He tried to recall anything else from Ayane's time in the lab only to come up short. He had a rough knowledge about what had happened, but nothing specific. "I don't know why I was there, I can't remember anything…but I know that they did something to me."

He looked up at the other members of the table.

It was time to drop the bomb, figuratively.

"I think…I think they turned me into a Sekirei."

There was a tense silence as they processed his words.

Suddenly Miya's face darkened considerably. Her bangs covered her face with a dark shadow and a deep violet aura surrounded her.

"They…what?"

XxXxXxXxXx

A/n – That's the end of chapter two! Yaaay~~! Anyways, contrary to what everyone assumed, Naruto did not assimilate with Ayane. This is something that cannot be explained in the story and make sense, so I'll skim by some things.

First; Naruto and Ayane are not the exact same person, they each have their own individuality and personalities (which often times clashes if you didn't notice), so just combining them is a very, very, very bad idea. They have the same soul, but we've seen how that can turn out. (Madara and Sasuke as the prime example) The human mind is surprisingly fragile, I mentioned earlier that if I had combined their memories right away if one personality was stronger than the other, either could have faced an identity crisis, or go insane.

Second; they each have their own reasons to live, and they feel very strongly about this. Unfortunately their reasons don't exactly meet up so again…I go back to identity crisis and contradicting thoughts. Have I mentioned that this is a very serious and real threat that they face? I won't go into detail in an author's note; I'll save that for dialogue.

Now, when Naruto is in control I'll use masculine pronouns (he, him, his, etc.), and the opposite when Ayane is in control (she, her, hers, etc.). I feel like it will help create a sense of self from them. Of course this only applies when the POV is from them. When I switch POV's I'll always refer to Naru/Ayane as a girl.

If you were paying attention you'll notice the air is not as depressing as it was when Uzume was terminated (died), I saved her for a reason. One, this part is really where Minato grows as an individual and an Ashikabi, and although he did grow from Uzume's demise the effects can also be replicated without her death.

Two, I did it as a homage to the original version which was created because I hated this scene from the manga. Only instead of Naruto 'popping' into existence from thin air, he was sniped with a very high powered tranq dart fired from a high powered rifle equipped with a suppressor.

Being Hokage for several weeks has taught Naruto the importance of choosing his battles. Naruto's strong and everything but he's not god-like, especially in an emaciated body who doesn't have his natural reflexes built up. Like the Sharingan's natural weakness before the Uchihacks. Even if he can see them coming he can't move fast enough to keep up with his reflexes.

Side note – Yes Naruto can use parkour to a small degree, I think it's realistic that he would considering the type of person he was as a child (serial prankster). He couldn't walk up walls so he had to have some way to get up buildings. He doesn't know the word parkour though because it just wasn't used in his time.

I also realize I'm really pushing the whole 'Ninja's endure' theme, but it's a very important theme and it's the general mindset of Naruto (the character). It's also a nice thing to say to someone who's been through what Ayane's been through. No one likes to be pitied, least of all Ayane

Like always, read and review and don't be afraid to ask questions if you're confused. If you feel I've made a mistake go ahead and point it out. I'm not perfect so any critique is appreciated.